1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to conveyor belts for transporting comestibles, products, and packages. More specifically, the invention pertains to a conveyor belt comprised of a plurality of two types of elongated bars arranged in parallel, spaced, and alternating relation, the first type having a plurality of transverse finger-like elements extending from either side thereof, and the second type being preferably right-circular cylindrical in cross-section.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art relating to conveyor belts for transporting comestibles, raw materials, manufactured goods, and packages is well developed. Although the principal objective of a conveyor belt is to move articles from one place to another, other objectives such as sorting and cleaning operations are also routinely performed in the process of conveying the articles. Sometimes, the sorting and cleaning operations are carried out manually, by persons standing adjacent the belt and acting directly upon the articles. In other cases, automatic sorting and cleaning operations are performed at stations or within zones, where unattended apparatus is provided to process the articles as they pass by.
Some conveyor belts are made from a continuous run of material, or from joined segments of such material, to form a belt having the desired width and length. Other belts are assembled from individual modular components, linked or pinned together to form a belt of the required size.
However formed, a conveyor belt usually passes around two or more rollers, sprockets, pulleys, or wheels providing drive and support as the belt is translated. These conveyor belt drive and support mechanisms may also be configured to direct the belt downwardly, upwardly, around corners, and in spiral fashion. Controllers for the drive systems of belts have been programmed to make belts move continuously, intermittently, and to reciprocate, in forward and reverse directions.
Conveyor belts have been provided with flights or other surface features, to assist in capturing or retaining the articles being transported. In some applications, flights or belt surface features are necessary to contain the articles, as the belt is inclined. In other applications, modifications of this sort act to group or segregate the articles for downstream processing.
In some applications, it is necessary for the conveyor belts to have a solid or impenetrable surface, so the goods or material being transported will not fall through the belt. In other configurations, the conveyor belt is perforated or includes apertures, to allow debris or other objects of a predetermined size to fall therethrough. The perforations or apertures thereby provide either a cleaning function or a size sorting function, or both. Perforations are also useful to allow upflowing air or downflowing water to pass through the perforations and remove debris and dirt from the product stream. Belts may be inclined in strategic locations simply to transport objects to a higher or lower elevation. Or an inclined belt may be combined with active cleaning forces, such as the pneumatic or hydraulic elements mentioned above.
Conveyor belts have been manufactured from a variety of materials, including rubber, metal, and plastic. Rubber belts are useful in providing full support of articles, and generally exhibit a transport surface with a high coefficient of friction. Metal belts are very durable, and are able to transport abrasive and heavy articles through challenging environments that would destroy or deteriorate other belt materials. Plastic belts lend themselves well to the transport of food articles, and also have applications in chemically corrosive surroundings.
Exemplary of this prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 2,776,045, granted to Heinrichs, in which a Bar Conveyor is disclosed. This arrangement includes a plurality of spaced long bar members 12, bent at their ends to form hooks 13. Linking members 14 are engaged by hooks 13. A pair of opposing sprockets 10 is provided, having teeth and notches between them, in which the ends of member 12 rest. This construction provides means for adjusting the spacing between the bars, and claims the conveyor is useful in movable “ore dressing grizzlies” and vegetable digging machines.
A Flat Wire Conveyor Belt Having Slotted Bar Links is shown in U.S. Reissue Pat. No. Re. 27,690, issued to Roinestad et al. This construction employs a plurality of transversely disposed tractive links 12, and a plurality of pivotal tractive cross pins 14. At each side of the conveyor belt 10, are bar links 16 provided with slots 26. The bar links carry substantially the entire tractive load of the belt as it travels around lateral curves, to eliminate deformation of the belt elements and eventual mechanical failure.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,302,765, issued to Lago, discloses a Bar Conveyor Belt, Particularly For The Food Industry. Lago uses two parallel longitudinal chains 6 and a plurality of bars 2 forming the conveying surface. The ends of the bars are fixed at their ends to successive links 4 of the two chains 6. Each link 4 comprises a U-shaped metal plate, having an inner arm 16, an outer arm 18, and an appendix 22. A drive sprocket 24 has teeth which engage the recess formed between two of the appendices 22 to drive the belt forwardly.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,980, granted to Oizumi, a Conveyor Belt For [A] Conveyor System is illustrated. This belt uses a plurality of support bars 36, arranged side-to-side, each having a plurality of branch bars 42 and 44 which project from opposing sides of a support bar 36. The branch bars 42 and 44 include bores 46 and 48, through which connecting rods 38 extend. Because branch bars 42 and 44 of respective support bars 36 are inter-engaged, the bars merely shift relative to each other when going around lateral corners, and articles are prevented from falling through the relatively small apertures 50 between the elements and structure of bars 36.
However, the need exists for a bar belt conveyor with rows of alternating bars of different types, that can provide article conveying pockets of varying size and depth.
The need also exists for a bar belt conveyor which can be field modified to convey articles of different sizes and shapes.
The need also exists for a bar belt conveyor that includes article conveying bars which can easily be replaced with modular replacement bars quickly and with very little disassembly of the main conveyor components.
The need further exists for a bar belt conveyor which can perform debris removal and article size sorting by selecting bars having extending elements of predetermined spacing and length.
These and other objects will be disclosed in the written specification and drawings to follow.